


culture shock (and the power of retrospect)

by bluebellbygones



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Air Nomad Genocide (Avatar), Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, The Gaang Learns How Zuko Got The Scar (Avatar), Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, apologies are hard, except its just aang, the fire nation has a nasty case of bushido gone toxic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-07-14
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:13:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25255189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bluebellbygones/pseuds/bluebellbygones
Summary: Aang knows more about the Fire Nation than he chooses to share, and Zuko wishes he knew more about the Nomads who built the Western Temple.(takes place between The Western Air Temple and The Firebending Masters)
Relationships: Aang & Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 31
Kudos: 1071





	culture shock (and the power of retrospect)

It stuns him even now, hours later, that they’d actually managed to accept him. With only one death threat, no less. Though considering the person it came from, he could hardly complain; he had betrayed the fragile sympathy and trust she’d allowed him in that moment. But other than that, once Toph recovers from the burn he gave her, the animosity cools down to a low simmer of caution and distance.

Unfortunately the rush of happiness and relief that he felt when the Avatar accepted him into the group had worn off and now Zuko just felt... awkward. He and his new student had agreed to start working on firebending lessons tomorrow, which Aang (?) was less than thrilled about, but Zuko gathered it was less because of the teacher and more because of the element. And now actually getting to know the Avatar, learning what kind of person he was, painted a very clear picture of the various roadbumps Zuko was bound to encounter. 

The Avatar didn’t want to hurt anybody, and it made him hesitant to confront things like firebending directly. He wasn’t an incredibly fierce person either. So, the new teacher had to come up with... something. He didn’t know what yet; he honestly didn’t come up with a plan for when he got this far, as per usual. 

While brainstorming in the evening, the kids Zuko was unfamiliar with stayed elsewhere in the temple (something about The Duke being paranoid about sleeping in open spaces and the kid in the wheelchair- Teo- needing a proper bed; he guessed they were trying to avoid him, which was fair enough), and Zuko distances himself from the little congregation of the Avatar’s friends circling the campfire. 

Momo- their lemur- bothers him incessantly, running back and forth from him to the campfire and either trying to paw at the food in the teen’s hands or tugging at his mouth to clarify exactly what he wanted. Even though he was trying so hard to stay level headed, he loses his patience and snaps at the lemur, sending it scurrying away to cling on to the Avatar’s head. Strangely they don’t reprimand him for this, though the Avatar looks at him with reproach for a brief moment. But they go back to what they were doing before, letting Zuko pick at his food quietly across the courtyard.

His bowl is about half empty when this status quo is broken by the airbender, whose gaze Zuko could feel on his back since he shouted at his animal. He thought at first the boy was just being cautious, but this is not the case.

“Zuko?” The Avatar calls to him. Zuko represses the urge to ignore him, and turns his way as a silent reply.

“Aren’t you gonna join us?” the boy asks, gesturing to where the others are gathered around their fire. Katara gets a sour look on her face while her brother (?) looks skeptical.

“Wasn’t planning on it.” Zuko says cautiously.

“Why not?”

“I’m supposed to be your teacher, not a friend.” As much as the idea appeals to him now, he needs to think realistically- acceptance did not equate to unconditional friendship.

“The way I see it, you’re gonna have to be both.” the smallest of the group chimes in, shattering that thought process, only turning her head so Zuko can hear better. He hasn’t been directly told, but he’s pretty sure she’s blind and her not looking at things, such as people talking to her, is just a little off putting. “We need to get used to you at least.”

“Oh, let him stay by himself.” the waterbender grumbles. “We don’t have to deal with his  _ attitude _ .”

Surprisingly, it’s the airbender who scolds her. “Katara.” he admonishes. Then he turns back towards Zuko. “Please? For a few minutes?”

He sounds so incredibly sincere about it, asking for his company so soon after he joined them, even though he was clearly still cautious about the prince being there. It... was hard to resist. The feeling of being wanted.

With a small groan, Zuko pulls himself up and drags himself over to the fire, sitting at a distance from the others. The blind girl bends the ground so his butt scoots closer and he yelps; Sokka snorts audibly.

“Thanks.” the Avatar smiles at him, and it feels really weird. It’s weird that there’s nothing expectant or malicious hiding underneath it, the way he was used to seeing Azula and the Firelord smile. It kind of reminds him of his mother, or his uncle and wow that’s probably a bad comparison to make with a kid as young as him. Katara pointedly becomes absorbed in her food when Zuko returns to his own.

“So...” Katara’s maybe-brother rolls his head on his shoulders. “What now? 20 questions?”

“Uh...” all the petulance drains out of Zuko immediately as something occurs to him then. He fidgets as their attention becomes fixed on him.

“I, um...” he mumbles. “I don’t... I’m sureI’ve heard your names before, but I just... uh, want to make sure. In case I get it wrong. And I only heard uh- the Avatar’s in passing so. Y’know.”

He’s stared at for a while until Toph snorts, breaking the silence.

“You seriously don’t even know the Avatar’s  name ?!”

“It’s not like it’s advertised!” Zuko protests, flustered. “I think it’s Aang? Do I have that right?”

Aang nods. “Yup. Nice to meet you, Zuko. Er, properly.”

“I’m Toph.” the earthbender says self importantly as she lays back in the dirt. “Local earthbending teacher and metalbending inventor.”

The warrior gives a casual wave. “Sokka. I’m the leader.”

“You are not the leader!” his maybe-sister argues, though it’s playful. Nothing that Zuko is familiar with; Azula often attempted it but it always came out much crueler than she usually meant it. When she was seven. “How many times have we had this discussion?”

“I’m!  _ The plan guy _ !” Sokka emphasizes dramatically. “Leaders do planning things!”

“He leads more than the rest of us do.” Aang shrugs. “Remember when he was carrying around that super long schedule?”

“The one Katara completely ignored trying to help that polluted fishing village? And he  _ whined _ about it?” Toph snickers.

“Leaders can also support their sister’s vigilante excursions on occasion.” Sokka sniffs. (The sibling confirmation makes Zuko internally tally another point.) He blinks and looks at Zuko. “That’s Katara, by the way.”

Katara nods curtly.

“Also that’s Appa.” Sokka gestures to the large creature across the way (who, admittedly, Zuko didn’t know the name of, an astounding feat in retrospect considering it was Aang’s main method of transport) who chews on a giant mouthful of dried grass and pays no mind to them at all.

Zuko returns their words with a small bow, hands on his knees, an instinctual show of respect. “You already know it, but my name is Zuko. I am honored to be working with you all, and I hope the future favors our endeavor.” he says in his official prince voice. When he looks back up, everyone but Toph looks at him with a respectful acknowledgment, and Aang even informally bows back.

“Okay,” Sokka slaps his hands on the ground. “20 questions. Zuko gets 5, we get like 15.”

Zuko wrinkles his nose. “Why.”

“We outnumber you, obviously.” Sokka claims, gesturing to the kids around the fire. “It’s only fair.”

“How about both sides get 20?” Katara raises an eyebrow, the least antagonistic she’s been towards Zuko since he set foot in the temple.

“What if we just ask questions and not be weird about it?” Toph suggests from her spot on the floor. This seems to sit well with everyone and they agree. “You can go first, Zuko.” she then adds. Sokka pulls a face.

“Okay...” Zuko mumbles. “Um... how is Aang an airbender, but... also a kid? When I was first searching for him, I was looking for an old man. And for that matter, how was _I,_ of all the people who searched, the first of the Fire Nation to find him?”

“Oh. I was in an iceberg, somewhere underwater in the South Pole.” Aang says far too casually.

Zuko looks at him.

“See?! It’s wild and he wasn’t even  there ! One minute Katara’s yelling at me for not appreciating what she did for me-“

“Also known as you being a sexist little snot.” Katara interjects with a jab.

“Hey, I’m a changed man. Anyway, Katara yelled at me then she blew up an iceberg on accident and it revealed another  bigger iceberg with a small alien looking thing in it.”

Aang looks at Sokka like he has something weird on his face. “Alien?”

“You were all glowy but also silhouetted and it was freaky, okay? Aang, you’re my best friend, I would die for you, but when we first found you, you looked  weird . That’s completely discounting Appa too.”

Appa lows at them through a mouthful of hay from across the courtyard and Toph raises a hand from the floor. “I’ve never heard this story either, actually. Besides when Sokka word vomited at the invasion.” she states. Sokka flushes pink.

“Why were you in an iceberg?” Zuko can’t help but ask, leaning forward.

Aang looks incredibly uncomfortable at this question, avoiding all eye contact and focusing on his mostly finished meal. “Appa and I were leaving the Southern Air temple when we got caught in a storm. The Avatar state activated and... next thing I knew, Katara and Sokka had found me 100 years later.”

“Huh.” Toph puffs at her bangs, uselessly blowing them out of her eyes. “Wild.”

From his peripheral, Zuko can see a look on Katara’s face that suggests Aang isn’t telling the whole story, but he decides not to pursue it.

“I have a question for his majesty.” Toph pipes up; Zuko can’t help but appreciate the sarcasm in that title drop. “How do you tolerate Azula being your sister?”

Zuko scoffs lightly. “I don’t.”

Toph cackles.

They continue like this for a while, Zuko gaining and sharing a lot of information while it happens, and he’s surprised by how ultimately pleasant the experience is. He learns Aang is from the Southern Air Temple and is a vegetarian (he makes a mental note just in case he has to cook one day), Toph is an ex Earth Rumble champion who was born blind and is the closest to a loose cannon the group has among them, he learns Sokka is skilled with a variety of weapons and is terrible at drawing (not that it ever stopped him), and Katara refuses to relinquish any further information about herself, which is fair.

He tells them that he was banished for three years, learned how to use twin dao from a young age; he doesn’t miss the small grimace on Aang’s face, nor the challenging glint in Sokka’s eyes, and was learning how to serve tea from his uncle. More questions are traded back and forth, so it’s weird when the question Zuko was waiting for them to bring up all night is asked.

“How’d you get your scar?” Katara is the one to pose the question, in a hesitant, but firm tone that suggests she’s fully aware it’s not something he likes talking about. 

To which she’s right. Zuko cringes under her stare. “I don’t like talking about it.”

”You said you thought of it as the ‘mark of the banished prince’,” Katara continues, and Zuko might be imagining it, but it sounds as though she’s trying to be coaxing rather that scathing like she had for the rest of the night. “but you never elaborated.”

”Cause I didn’t want to. It’s private.”

“That’s against the rules!” Sokka cries out, jabbing a finger in the prince’s general direction. “And that was gonna be my question anyway!”

“You can keep it vague?” Aang attempts to placate, though his curiosity is clear on his face.

“Fine.” Zuko relents, deciding to do just that while also getting right to the point. “I spoke out of turn in the Firelord’s war room.”

And there it is, out in the open, his past out on full display like they wanted. He’s answered their question, but everyone looks confused, like he hasn’t.

Except Aang. Horror slowly dawns on his features, his eyes fill with pity, and Zuko hates that more than anything.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Toph frowns.

“What it sounds like.” Zuko says brusquely, temper starting to rise again. “I opposed a general’s plan during a war meeting with the Firelord. That’s the whole story.”

“Uh, no, there’s more story there.” Katara says. “Aang said you could be vague, but you’re hiding something from us. And right now, that’s not acceptable.”

“I am not!” He shouts; he’s trying his best to gain their trust, but they reject him at every turn. The only reason he answered the question was to be honest with them, now they don’t believe him? Warranted, maybe, but it wasn’t as though Zuko had ever  lied  about his intent. No one else seems to understand that.

Except Aang, to his chagrin. “He’s not hiding anything, Katara.” the airbender says softly. “If it’s what I think it is, he told us the full story. Can we drop it?”

“Am I missing something?” Toph props herself upright.

“Yeah, Aang, what does that mean?” Sokka asks, turning toward the airbender.

“I-“ Aang turns toward him, something in his eyes that’s... sad. Horrified, pitying. It makes Zuko sick.

“Yeah, why don’t you tell them, if you’re an expert!” his temper flares and he bolts to his feet, snarling. The campfire blazes three times its original size and the embers make everyone scatter, Sokka pulling Toph out of the way.

“Zuko-“ Aang tries.

“You clearly don’t need me to fill in the blanks. So I’ll leave.” he says scathingly before stomping off into the temple itself. No one makes a move to go after him. It hurts, if he’s being honest.

The Western air temple was a marvel, put simply. Hung suspended over a chasm, like a town had been flipped over, so the feeling of weightlessness was always present even for those who couldn’t airbend. It was easy to imagine the large number of monks that had lived there, swooping around on their gliders, completely unafraid of falling into the pit below. Aang claimed he’d never been to this temple before, but he seemed entirely at ease regardless. Zuko had visited once and, upon his return, had never felt more out of place.

The inside of the temple chambers were considerably less ornate than something like a Fire Nation sanctuary, but it was incredible nonetheless. Large open spaces with altars, murals that panned entire hallways, rooms that were only accessible by windows and trapdoors, a massive system of wooden pipes that connected to what Zuko thought was an instrument. The faces of airbenders long passed seemed to stare at him as he walked past, even though their eyes were closed. They were meditating, clearly, but to him it looked more like they were sleeping eternally. It made him all the more paranoid; the dead were everywhere here. In the wind, on the wall, in the faded scorch marks and small bits of rubble, in the empty rooms with purposes Zuko could only speculate.

Of course he could ask Aang, but he’d gone and blown any chances of that happening straight out of the water with his outburst. He’d only been here for less than a week and he was already messing things up. Maybe tomorrow, when things had time to settle.

His footsteps echo. It’s so empty. It sort of reminds him of his family’s summer home, and how he wishes that place could have people in it too.

_ My great grandfather destroyed this _ . he can’t help but think. 

The first time he’d visited the temple, he hadn’t appreciated it near enough. He just wanted to focus on the task he believed he was given. Now that he knows it was just a snipe hunt, salt mockingly rubbed in the wound, the quiet beauty of this place stuns him.

_ My great grandfather wanted this way of life destroyed. _ It amazes him.  _ He wanted them all dead. He never even occupied the temples when they were left open. And for what? _

The Avatar, obviously, but it always seemed excessive, even back when Zuko thought it just a part of history. Now it’s different. Personal. The biggest smear on his family’s ledger.

He’d always been taught that the Air Nomads were weak, that their militia crumbled in seconds, that they refused to kill firebenders even on the off chance they had the upper hand. Now he wonders how much of what he was taught was actually true; there’s a room for hanging and repairing glider staves, but there are no weapons of any other kind. And besides that, how were these people meant to fight against Sozin’s comet, even if what he’d been taught was true? The more time he spends with the others- the Avatar, the water tribe siblings, Toph- the more any lingering illusions of his country’s victories against the other nations being just and earned are dispelled. The nomads were proud, strong people, whose ways of life simply differed. Mercy now strikes him as a strength of its own nowadays. It’s disheartening at best to have descended from a line of opportunists, always jumping at the chance for a cheap shot.

His other great grandfather however... Zuko was sure he would have protected the nomads if he could. Even if he wasn’t attached, he was obligated. He didn’t know his other great grandfather very well; for an Avatar, his life had surprisingly little documentation. Likely because there was little he had to intervene with up until his death.

_ Roku should have killed Sozin. _ He thinks without remorse.  _Then this place wouldn’t be so dead_. In equally literal and figurative sense. Sure, he likely wouldn’t have been born, but how much of a loss to the world would that really be? He could only imagine how Aang felt about it.

It wasn’t completely fair to blame Roku though; he’d threatened Sozin quite seriously if his memoir was accurate, and Sozin hadn’t gone through with it. Until he let Roku die.

Another cheap shot on the long list.

It was a weird and difficult thing, putting himself in others’ shoes if only for a moment. But it helps. Considering the Avatar- Aang, considering Roku, considering an entire race of people he’d only ever been fed misinformation about- he begins to form a vague path that he could pitch to the new Firelord, with any luck, and help his country reform.

He really hopes it isn’t Azula.

He’s about to head back to his shelter outside the temple when he hears someone with incredibly soft steps enter. Light scuffs, like he was purposefully announcing his presence but also trying to convey no aggression of any sort. It isn’t confident or firm, the way the strides of his father or sister sound.

Aang is still giving him that same sad look as he stands in the archway, but instead of angering him as it had at the camp fire, now it’s just exhausting.

“I’m sorry.” Zuko speaks first, stilted and awkward. His voice is quiet, yet the chamber rings with it, makes it sound like a small bell. “Yelling at you wasn’t... fair.”

A lot of what he did wasn’t fair, but now wasn’t the time to address all the individual incidents.

Aang seems to disregard the apology entirely, walking forward until he was a comfortable distance away from the other. “My friends who lived in the Fire Nation- Kuzon and Ysoka- taught me about... the honor system here. One of the most important things about this country’s culture.” he sits down like he does when meditating. The way his feet are positioned always strikes Zuko as uncomfortable, but Aang has clearly adapted to it. “I don’t want to make assumptions, since so many things have changed in the last hundred years, so... I didn’t tell the others what I thought it was.”

Zuko isn’t sure what to make of this, so he looks at the airbender as neutrally as he can. “And what do you think it was?”

“The Firelord saw your opposition in his war room as an act of great disrespect and challenged you to an Agni Kai. During the duel you... got hurt.” Aang speaks plainly, staying as objective as possible. “Is that what happened?”

Credit where it’s due, Zuko thinks with a loud internal sigh. “It wasn’t much of a duel; I refused to fight him. He decided to punish me for my... weakness.” the last word comes out with such pent up bitterness it surprises even him.

“Why’d you refuse to fight?” The way Aang says it doesn’t imply anything. There is nothing that suggests he is trying to belittle Zuko, suggests it was some weakness on his part that led to his  iconic blemish. And he, of all people, wouldn’t mock someone for refusing to fight. It helps.

“Because he’s my father.” Zuko answers dully. “Family isn’t supposed to fight. Or hurt each other.”

He speaks with such distaste that Aang can easily tell it’s said in cynicism. He doesn’t press for more.

But Zuko continues anyway. “Then he banished me for refusing to fight, saying I showed shameful weakness. And for the longest time, I thought he was in the right. He set the condition that I could only return home if I found and captured the Avatar.” he sighs. “So now you know.”

Aang still looks... sad, pitying. But he doesn’t say anything; he simply lets out a hum of acknowledgement and a nod.

“But you don’t think that way anymore?” he asks after a moment.

Zuko shakes his head emphatically. “No. I think the country I love and call my home needs serious reform. Starting with the Firelord. That’s why I wanted to join you so bad.”

Aang says nothing to this, simply looking contemplative, likely reassessing Zuko again, trying to evaluate how he felt about where he stood. Then the nomad nods.

“I’m glad. We met a bunch of people in the Fire Nation who needed help, but I’m sure that was just scratching the surface. I think... with you with us, we can help people as a whole, instead of random towns we happen across.”

Zuko’s eyebrows raise; that was a surprisingly large amount of faith for someone who just started to trust him, in any capacity. He’d call it naive if he weren’t so earnest about the subject himself.

“I-“ he finds himself blurting out. “If it all works out- I want to help rebuild the air nation too.”

Aang’s face is unreadable, but Zuko, with one foot already in the ditch he’d dug himself, blunders onward.

“I just- this place is... I’ve been here before, but I never appreciated it then... and I bought into the things the textbooks always said about the Air Nation, but- I just-“ his head meets his palm and he groans. Aang listens and waits patiently. For all the hyperactivity he displayed when they met, Zuko quickly learned how good he was at listening, being patient with people.

“This place...” Zuko starts again. He looks off to the wall, one covered by a massive painted mural of the story of airbenders, living in harmony with a giant lionturtle, then learning how to bend from the sky bison, leaping and swirling high into the cloudbanks or falling softly into deep chasms where they land unharmed. It is covered in cracks and greenery, discoloration and big black marks. “is incredible. I can only imagine what it would have been like with people to inhabit it. And knowing that my great grandfather was the one who... is the reason they aren’t here now...” he grips the hem of his robe until his knuckles turn white. “And that my grandfather, father, and even my sister think nothing of it- that we killed an entire nation, it’s just-“

“Zuko, stop.” Aang says quietly. His expression is stoic, but his voice shakes. “Please, don’t talk about it like that.”

Zuko’s brows knit and his gaze falls to his lap. He should have known better. “I’m sorry.” he says weakly.

“It’s okay. For what it’s worth, I really appreciate the thought.” the boy has a small, sad smile on his face when Zuko looks up.

“So... where does that leave us?”

“I don’t know.” Aang sighed. “I haven’t exactly looked beyond the impending future that is Sozin’s comet yet. For now, it’s just... learning firebending.”

“I meant,” Zuko mumbles awkwardly. “the terms we’re meeting on.”

Aang blinks. “They’re still the same. Why?” Then something occurs to him and he smirks at the older boy, leaning forward. “Are you asking to be friends or something?”

“I’m asking if you hate me!” Zuko bursts out in exasperation. Then simmers down upon seeing Aang flinch. “Sorry.” he says for what feels like the umpteenth time that night.

“Zuko, I never really hated you.” Aang says seriously. “It was easy to be angry at you, and you provoked us a lot, but... I didn’t hate you.”

Zuko scoffs. “Is there anything you do hate?” he means it as a lighthearted jab, but immediately feels small upon seeing Aang scowl.

“I hated the sandbenders when they stole Appa.” he murmurs darkly, clenching the weeds growing through the cracks in the stone. “I hated seeing people making-  revisions to the history of my culture. I hate losing control. I hate scaring people close to me.” he wrinkles his nose. “I hate sea prunes.”

Zuko fights a laugh. “I stand corrected.” he softly says instead.

“But I don’t hate you.” Aang’s scowl vanishes. “And I don’t hate the Fire Nation. The Firelord is not his country; I still have to remember that sometimes, but the civilians there are suffering in their own way, and being told all these things that aren’t true. It’s not fair to the world, and it’s not fair to them.”

Zuko knows that sentiment all too well. “You hate the system.”

There’s no hesitation in Aang’s nod.

“I don’t blame you for what happened to the airbenders, Zuko. So don’t talk about it like that. And I really, deeply appreciate your desire to help rebuild it, but it’s not your responsibility.”

A long moment passes between them, one in which Aang looks around the room, up at the massive domed ceiling covered in a mosaic that swirled around and outward, touching all the pillars that supported it. The walls seem to hum, and he appears to listen with a longing Zuko fully understands, but would never understand at the same time.

“Are you going to tell the others? About my... ?” the prince can’t help but ask after a long lapse of sound, gesturing to his face.

“Not if you don’t want me to.” Aang says gently, broken from his trance. “It’s up to you.”

It was apparent to Zuko before, but fully smacks him in the face now; Aang is such a good kid, intent on showing even him compassion even after all he’d done.

“I’m sorry.” Zuko says again, voice going hoarse. “I thought... you were my one chance to go home... but then home turned out to be horrible. And I didn’t even know it before I left.” He massages his temples. “I put you through so much- garbage, and it ended up being for nothing.”

Aang doesn’t respond. Instead, he stands up and walks over, tugging gently on Zuko’s shirt. The prince looks up.

“Let’s go back.” Aang says. “You still have a place, if you want it.”

And somehow those words are the exact ones Zuko needed to hear. He stands up, taking the Avatar’s invitation.

When Zuko returns with Aang, everyone at the fire remains where he left them, and there’s not a dirty look in sight. He sits next to Aang this time, drawing a frown from Katara, though she doesn’t say anything.

”I’m sorry for yelling.” Zuko apologizes stiffly. “Or- uh, yelling at you. I-“

”Don’t worry about it.” Sokka stops him. “Seriously. I would rather never talk about it again and suffer in awkward silence for the rest of the night than hear you apologize.”

Toph snorts at him. “That sounds like an insult, you know.”

“I know it’s weird,” Zuko cuts Sokka off just as he opens his mouth. “and it’s a big change for me, too. I’m not even good at apologizing yet. But...” he bows. “Sorry anyway.”

Katara and Sokka look to each other, then to Aang who gives them a nod.

Sokka shrugs, “Okay.” and the night returns to what it had been before, though the silence is less awkward than it would have been and far more easily broken. Zuko picks up his bowl again and turns to Aang.

”Hey,” he says. “I was wondering... that big room we were just in, what was it for? Can you tell me?”

Aang grins wide and tells him all about it.

**Author's Note:**

> i feel the sentence “ Zuko, with one foot already in the ditch he’d dug himself, blunders onward.” describes his character perfectly.
> 
> i realized that zuko probably didn’t know everyone’s name, or wasnt sure if he heard then right at least, and i wanted to write about it and man that idea went places.
> 
> i feel like someone’s gonna jump out at me with some evidence of information i forgot about aang not actually knowing what agni kais are or something, but like. humor me, ok?
> 
> thank you for reading! ^^
> 
> edit: the comments piled up too fast for me to formulate a proper response to each, wow. yall are too kind and these comments about how people thought they were in character or how the conversation was good for the relationship really made my day. that’s what i was focusing most on and im so glad it was both successful and a good read. thank you all so much! ;u;


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